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Injury, poor claw health, lameness and mastitis due to fecal contamination are negative results from inadequate stockmanship or tie-stall design. These problems affect cattle welfare and increase the probability of premature culling, lost production and negative attitudes by the public toward the dairy industry. Animal-based parameters can be used to measure the cow's response to management choices. This information can be used to evaluate husbandry choices and improve animal welfare and productivity., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2004

Bovine Respiratory Disease is a multifactorial syndrome, which negatively impacts performance and welfare among cattle on feed. BRD is associated with viral and bacterial pathogens; but other causal factors include management techniques and environmental stresses. Immune systems of many species, including bovids, have the capability to become compromised by stress. Low-stress cattle handling (LSCH) and acclimation methods are thought to lower stress and may potentially benefit the health and performance of feedlot cattle. Low stress handling methods use the natural behavior and innate responses of cattle to minimize negative consequences due to handler interactions. Acclimation methods familiarize cattle with their environment and, therefore, decrease stress. It was hypothesized that cattle that were acclimated and handled with LSCH techniques would vocalize less and display calmer behavior in a squeeze chute compared to cattle that had not been acclimated and had been handled conventionally., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2019

American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2018

An overwhelming majority of domestic goats are born with horns and require disbudding either for safety considerations or as a requirement by show organizations and breed registries. Heat-cautery disbudding is typically performed by producers without adjunct anesthesia or analgesia, and is both painful to the animal and aversive to the owner. Although heat-cautery disbudding currently provides a common compromise between welfare, efficacy, and production constraints, there is demand for a stand-alone disbudding option that improves welfare in the absence of adjunct anesthesia, is technically straightforward to perform, and reliable. The objective of this study was to evaluate indications of pain for 3 alternative caprine disbudding methods (clove oil injection, 1-hour application of caustic paste, or freezing) against sham-disbudded and heat-cautery controls., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2017

Caprine disbudding is commonly performed for safety considerations or as a requirement by show organizations. Heat-cautery disbudding is typically performed by producers without adjunct anesthesia or analgesia and is both painful to the animal and aversive to the producer. Although it currently provides the most common compromise between welfare, efficacy, and production constraints, there is demand for a stand-alone disbudding option that improves welfare in the absence of adjunct anesthesia and is both technically straightforward and reliable. The objective of this study was to evaluate efficacy and animal safety for 3 alternative caprine disbudding methods (clove oil injection, 1-hour application of caustic paste, or freezing) against sham-disbudded and heat-cautery controls., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2017

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is common following weaning and movement of calves from individual to group housing. The objective for this preliminary analysis was to evaluate the effect of BRD in the 60 days following grouping on the survival, dystocia rates, and age at first calving for replacement heifers., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2010

A double-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted on two Holstein dairy farms: a research facility in Ontario, Canada and a large commercial dairy farm in Michigan. It was hypothesized that a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (Banamine) will reduce pain after calving, thus improving individual cow well-being, and in turn improve milk production, reduce periparturient disease, enhance reproductive performance, and limit early removal from the herd in the subsequent lactation., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2009

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is common following weaning and movement of calves from individual to group housing. If this disease occurs in the young calf, it has long term implications for the individual welfare of the calf by increasing its mortality risk and economic impacts for the farmer by increasing the time to first calving (Waltner-toews et al, 1986). Given the long-term consequences of this disease, an effective and easy to manage method of prevention is important for dairy calf management. Our objective is to evaluate the effects of tulathromycin administered at the time of post-weaning grouping on incidence of respiratory disease and growth in dairy calves., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2008

The majority of dairy cows in Ontario are housed in tie-stall barns, with tremendous variability in stall characteristics and dimensions among farms. An observational study conducted by our research group on 317 farms in 2003 identified several key stall characteristics as being associated with lameness, injury and cow cleanliness. Specifically, increased length of tie chain was associated with increased cow cleanliness and a decrease in hock lesions. To further investigate the importance of neck chain length, a pilot study was conducted to examine the behaviour of dairy cows in stalls with two different chain lengths and to determine if cows would exhibit a behavioral preference for increased chain length., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2007

The impact of calving difficulty on the behavior of periparturient dairy cattle has not been reported. The objective of this study was to measure variables associated with difficulty of calving, and to identify the associations of parameters with periparturient behavior. Previously recorded videotapes of 23 cows on day -1, 0 and +1 relative to calving were analyzed. Data included frequency and duration of standing and lying behavior, calving difficulty score, duration of calving and calf body measurements. Calving difficulty was scored as: 0-unassisted, 1-easy pull, 2-hard pull. Video information was analyzed, interpreted and entered. Data were analyzed using logistic and linear regression with Statistix. Heifers were more likely to require assistance during calving (P, American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2006

Neonatal calf diarrhea complex has a significant impact on the dairy industry. The National Animal Health Monitoring System reports that diarrhea accounts for greater than 60% of pre-weaned calf deaths. A recent field study in Europe has identified beneficial effects of Meloxicam therapy in calves with diarrhea. This controlled trial examined the efficacy of Meloxicam administration in combination with oral electrolyte and antibiotic therapy for the treatment of calf diarrhea. Compared to control animals, the Meloxicam-treated calves experienced significant improvements in clinical parameters, such as hydration status, fecal consistency, rectal temperature and signs of visceral pain. Overall, calfrecovery from the episode of diarrhea was improved for calves receiving Meloxicam therapy, compared to placebo-treated calves. The objective of the current study was to examine the effects of Meloxicam administration on calf health, behavior and performance in calves with neonatal calf diarrhea complex in Ontario., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2006

Three experiments were designed to assess the utility of ketoprofen administration in Holstein dairy calves prior to dehorning on mitigating pain response. Experiments A and C involved the use of a butane dehorner on calves between two days and two weeks of age. Experiment B was conducted on calves between four and eight weeks of age using the electric Rhinehart dehorning device., American Association of Bovine Practitioners Proceedings of the Annual Conference, 2004

Incorporating the patient perspective on the value of medicines into health technology assessments (HTA) is becoming increasingly important as acknowledged by several prominent HTA agencies. NICE (UK) has employed several measures, including a Citizen’s Council. Canada, particularly in the area of oncology, has a formalized process through which patient input on drug reviews and feedback on recommendations is obtained to ensure patients’ experiences (both good and bad) of living with cancer and undergoing treatment are routinely considered. Refereed/Peer-reviewed